KOTOR II: TSL
by Zeren Jade
Summary: It's the beginning of my KOTOR story based on The Sith Lords, told from the Exile's point of view. It's my first attempt at fanfic, so please review.
1. Prologue: Past Remembered

I was a Jedi. And a Jedi does what is right. I _did_ what I believed was right and I was cast out…forgotten…_exiled_. That word echoed in my mind, constantly, just as the pain echoed in my soul.

I went to war with Revan. We stopped the peril that threatened to crush the Republic. We didn't sit by and _watch_ as worlds fell and countless innocents were killed. We fought back; _I_ fought back.

And then, there was Malachor. I lost _everything_ there. Not that I had much now that I think back. But, everything I _was_, everything I _believed_ in, was lost to me. I wasn't the only one who lost something at Malachor, I don't pretend to be, but no one else lost what I did…

I lost _myself_ there, I would have preferred death. My body survived the battle, but my spirit didn't. My bodily wounds healed, and I forgot them. But I feel the wounds in my spirit continue bleeding, still, after all this time. All the pain and suffering felt that day got wrapped up inside of me, filling every fiber of my being and becoming part of who I am. I didn't understand it then, I didn't try to; I do _now_. All I knew then was whatever happened there _changed_ me, _broke_ me. And so I ran, frantically trying to forget.

I wanted to forget…_everything_; everything that had _happened_, everything I had _done_, everything that I _was_. I didn't want to think about what I had _chosen_…

But, really, it wasn't even that I didn't _want_ to think about it. It was the agonizing fact that no matter how badly I _wanted_ to go back to who I was before the war, before Malachor, I _couldn't_. That was why I ran. I thought that, maybe, if I ran far enough it wouldn't matter anymore. After a while, it was simply gone, just a painful memory. I wanted it to stay that way, just "another dirty little Jedi secret," as Atton put it. I _tried_ to keep it that way, and for a while, it worked. I was simply an exile, wandering aimlessly around the galaxy, no home, no family, no _past_…

But the past _hates_ to be forgotten, mine was no exception. And not even the pain I endured, nor how far I ran could change that for me. It caught up with me, and I had no choice but to face it.


	2. Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the name and personality of the Exile, everything else belongs to Lucas Arts/Obsidian.

Author Note: Ok, I combined the first two chapters to make them longer, hope that's

better now. Thanks for the reviews!

Ch. 1: Awakening

The pain coursed through me, searing through every part of my body and mind. I couldn't fight it; it was consuming me, becoming more unbearable with every second. It was the pain from the wounds of Malachor, that still bled. The pain of those who died and suffered was echoing and reverberating inside the walls of my body, threatening to tear me apart…

**Awaken…**

It was over; the pain was gone, replaced by cold. I was freezing. Slowly I opened my eyes, my head throbbed, a fact not helped by the bright lighting of the room I was in. Raising my self from the cold metal floor I looked around and saw that I was in a med bay, but it wasn't the Harbinger. I looked around, there were six kolto tanks in the room, five held lifeless bodies, the last, mine, was empty. I didn't recognize anything around me but couldn't figure how I could be off the Harbinger…It didn't make sense. And neither did the fact that there seemed to be no one around, aside from the deceased in the tanks.

Unsteadily, I got to my feet; my head throbbed, as well as my arm. I was still cold, and somewhat wet from the kolto tank. I looked down at my arm and saw that it was bruised and sore still.

"What the hell am I wearing?" I said aloud, seeing the unfortunate undergarments I was wearing. They definitely weren't mine and definitely weren't something I would put on my body. Vanity could wait however; I needed to find out where I was.

"Peragus Mining Station, _wonderful_," I said, reading from the computer terminal in the medlab. It just kept getting better. I was running around in god-awful brown underwear in some abandoned facility, which I discovered to be a _mining_ station. And, better yet, the only doors I could get open were to the morgue and a storage room.

I checked the storage room. All I found were some medical supplies and my clothes, which were tattered nearly beyond recognition. Then, giving up on any other option I decided to see if there was anything of use in the morgue.

I walked in, two bodies sat on the tables, one was an old woman. _What is she doing on a mining station,_ I wondered. On the other body, obviously one of the miners, there was a plasma torch; at least I could get the door open now…

"Find what you were looking for amongst the dead?"

I spun around to see where the voice had come from, it was the old woman, "You…you were, I thought you were dead," I stammered.

"Close to it, yes," she said, her face half-covered by a hood. "Closer than I'd like. But, you smell of a kolto tank, how do you feel?"

"Fine, just a little disoriented. Your voice, I heard it before, while I was in the kolto tank."

"Perhaps, I reached out unconsciously and your mind was a willing one. Or, perhaps, you are trained in such things," she said, somewhat suspiciously I thought.

"Interesting thought," I replied, eluding what she was implying, and continued, "But it's not important right now. What _is_ is who you are. First you're telepathic and then you're feigning death."

"I am Kreia, your rescuer, as you are mine. That is all you need to know."

"Lara Jade," I said, "and it's _not_ all I need to know. The last thing I remember is being aboard the _Harbinger_, then, I wake up in a kolto tank on a mining station. Next thing is I find you, _dead_, and now we're having a nice little chat. Since you're my "rescuer" I'm going to assume you can fill in the missing pieces."

"Your ship, the _Harbinger_, was attacked, you were the only survivor, because of your Jedi training perhaps?"

Anger welled up inside me as she spoke those words. "If you think I'm a Jedi, you're sadly mistaken," I replied icily.

"Your stance, your walk, tells me you are a Jedi. You carry something that weighs you down."

"I don't want to talk about it. Suffice to say the Order and I have… a troubled history."

"Well, keep your past, for now, turn your energy to what is at hand."

"Gladly. But if you want me to do that you're going to have to tell me what the hell is going on here."

"I don't know much more than what I have already told you. As I was removed from the vents of the galaxy while I slept. However, we must leave this place. Quickly."

"And leave all the fun here," I said dryly. If I could have seen her eyes I know they would have been rolling to the back of her skull.

"Your sarcasm is ill-timed," she replied.

"Well, why are you in such a hurry then?"

"We were attacked once and I fear our attackers will not give up easily. And our lack of transportation, information, and weapons will make us easy prey."

"Alright I get it. There's got to be someone left alive around here anyway, I'll go check around."

"While you're at it, you may want to extend your search to some clothes. If only for proper first impressions."

"Very funny. And maybe I'll come back when you answer my questions."

"I have found that answers will come in their own time, not ours. And if we are not able to find a way out of here, they will be useless anyway."

"Right. I'm going," I said a little irritated at the crazy old woman. "One more thing," I said turning back to her, "the patients in the med bay were poisoned by an overdose of sedatives. I would think that you, the only living person I've seen, would know something about that."

"No, I don't. But why did they spare you?"

"They didn't. I got the same dosage, but survived," _unfortunately_, I thought.

"A Jedi trance would protect you from that, perhaps it was meant simply to keep you unconscious."

"If you cal me a Jedi one more time . . ." I sighed, "It doesn't matter you don't know anything about it and that's all I wanted to know."

With that I turned and left the med bay and resumed my search of the facility, slightly more confused than before, which I found difficult to believe.


	3. To Feel Again

Ch. 2: To Feel Again

I left Kreia and continued down the hall to the damaged door. With my newly acquired plasma torch I was able to get it open. As I walked through the door and into the deserted halls I felt so lost. After talking to Kreia I only had more questions than before, and no matter what _her_ philosophy was about their importance, I still wanted them.

My head had cleared since I woke up, and I began to wonder whether it was a blessing or a curse. I kept trying to remember what had happened on the _Harbinger_ and how I had gotten _here_, of all places, but I couldn't.

I remembered I had been aboard the_ Harbinger_, en route to Onderon, which was just another stop on my never-ending journey around the galaxy. The last night I could remember was when I was talking to some of the soldiers. Some of them were veterans; others were new recruits who had never seen war. I hoped they never would. After that, I went to my quarters and went to bed…and then woke up in a kolto tank! That was all I could remember! I couldn't remember an attack. How had I been the _only_ survivor? All the soldiers I talked to were _gone_. I couldn't believe it. No matter how many time I replayed it in my head it didn't add up.

Just as I was thinking of that, I came to another jammed door. Whatever had happened here had definitely not been a small, contained accident. Just as I got my plasma torch I heard Kreia's voice, "Stop."

"I thought you were-," I said as I turned around. She wasn't there. "Kreia?" I called, feeling foolish and wondering if I had imagined it.

"_Listen to me_," her voice was louder, in my head like when I was in the kolto tank. "_Do no doubt, just listen. Close your eyes and listen_."

"What? Look, you were the one who wanted a way off this station, quickly. I don't have time to stand around and play games. Just stay out of my head!"

"_This is not a game. Be careful. There is much energy in the room beyond yet it stems from nothing that lives_."

"What are you talking about?" I was growing frustrated with her.

"_Cast aside your physical sight and instead reach out with your perceptions, reach out past the door_."

I closed my eyes and tried to feel. There was nothing at first and then—

"_Ah, you can feel them, not the druids, but the small oscillations of energy echoing outward. It is there, you feel it, however faintly_."

"What's happening? What did you do?"

"_It is the Force, you can feel it still, even after all this time_."

"No," I said harshly, "I don't want this anymore, not again!"

"_Don't turn away. Listen—_"

"No!" I yelled out loud. "_You_ listen Kreia, I don't want this; I can't go back."

"_Why not? Is it hatred for the Jedi, for what they did? No…I do not feel it in you. It is something else…it is fear. Yes, that is it. Because of your loss at Malachor_."

"You don't know anything about me, I am not afraid!" yet even as I said it I knew she was right.

"_Don't turn away again, as you did at Malachor, leave the past behind you. You can still feel the Force, echoing inside you, just as the pain of Malachor is. I can show you, guide you down the familiar paths once more_."

"But it's not the same, it's faint, weak. Almost like it's coming from a great distance."

"_Because you chose to abandon it. You turned away, shut it out. With training you could reestablish the connection, make it stronger, more powerful than before. Reach out once more_."

I tried again; it was stronger than before, yet still enormously weaker than it had been. I opened my eyes, expecting Kreia to say something more, but she said nothing. How had I been able to feel it? When I had been exiled there was nothing, not even if I tried; now it came easily.

I pushed it from my mind, after ten years I had become a professional doing that. I knew how to push something from my mind, forget about it, until I was ready to think about it again. It was how I had dealt with things since my exile, by not dealing with them.

I tried to focus on what I was doing. I knew that I had to find something for the droids before I opened the door. I checked the bodies in the room. One of them had a mining laser. It would work. I walked over to the door, opened it and had my laser ready. The door barely opened before the droids began to fire. Diving to the left I got behind the side of the door. Once they stopped firing I took a couple well-aimed shots and they were gone.

I walked through the door blaster ready in case of more droids, there weren't any. There was a computer terminal with holorecords from the workers at the facility in the room. Apparently there had been major problems, mining droids going homicidal, explosions in the tunnels, and malfunctions in the vents. Nothing more though, and still no sign of anyone.

I continued through the deserted halls and into a large open room filled with computers. As I walked towards what looked like the main terminal a blaster shot rang out, passing close by my leg, quickly followed by another. I spun around, fired aimlessly not knowing where the shot came from. Then I saw them, two droids in the corner. I aimed, and fired, just as one was getting ready to fire at me and quickly fired on the other. I missed; the droid didn't. The shot got me in the left shoulder; the smell of burnt flesh filled my nose. I fired again, ignoring the pain, and disabled the droid. I stood up and looked around, there were no more. I was going to have to go back to the med lab, but my desire to find out what was going on was stronger than the sting, besides, it could've been worse.

The terminal was code locked. I was pretty good with computers but this was beyond me. I could only access the basic functions. I checked the security cameras, the same thing all over the facility: bodies and droids. I'd just about given up as I checked the last camera, the holding cells. To my surprise someone was there, and had been there for a while judging by his appearance.

He was sitting cross-legged, head in his hands with Pazaak cards lying in front of him. And he looked more desperate than I did. He didn't look like a miner so I wondered why he was here. Realizing I was accomplishing nothing by standing here and wondering I found the control to open the door to the cells. I decided to head to the med lab first; my wound was beginning to throb. Besides, the man in the holding cell wasn't going anywhere anyway.

I walked into the med lab and grabbed a medpack. The pain subsided and my shoulder felt better. I had another reason for coming back as well: I wanted to talk to Kreia. About the Force, how I could feel it, and who the hell she was that she could. I hadn't thought she was a Jedi. She was cryptic enough, but something was wrong about her that made me discredit the possibility that she was. Maybe she had been, but turned away.

Those thoughts passed through my head as I walked into the morgue, why she wanted to haunt _that_ room I didn't know.

"Kreia," I said, "We have to talk." She didn't answer, didn't even move. "Kreia," I said louder.

"Listen to me!" Still she sat silently, ignoring me. "Fine," I said frustrated. "I'm wasting my time with you anyway."


	4. Atton

Ch. 3: Atton

"_Someone yet lives beyond this door. Be careful, his thoughts are…difficult to read. Yet, you have nothing to fear from this one. He may yet prove useful,"_ said Kreia in my head.

I continued to the door, wondering what Kreia meant. As the door to the holding cells opened I remembered what I was wearing, or wasn't, depending on how you look at it. I had the urge to jump aside, but it was too late, the door was already open. And, there I was, scantily clad in all the glory of my god-awful underwear.

I walked into the room and the man in the holding cell looked up, surprised. I wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that there was someone there or what that person was wearing, I figured the latter. "Nice outfit, you miners change regulation uniform while I've been in here," he said, looking me over.

"I'd keep the eyes up and tell me who you are," I said, my rudeness masking my embarrassment.

"Atton," he replied, standing up and avoiding stepping on the Pazaak cards in front of him. "Atton Rand. Excuse me if I don't shake hands, the security field only causes mild electrical burns," he continued sarcastically.

"I guess you should've thought of that _before_ you got yourself locked up."

"Hey! It's not my fault," he said defensively. "Security claimed I violated some trumped-up regulation or another. Go ahead and take it up with them if you want, but they stopped listening to me shortly before they stopped feeding me. Now that's criminal."

"Well, I don't know who you're expecting to come listen to your sad little story since aside from you, me, and some old woman, this place is deserted. What happened here?"

"You mean before or after that Jedi showed up? Either way it's a real short story," he shrugged and continued, "You see, this Jedi shows up and you know what that means, where there's one, the entire Republic will soon be crawling up your ion engine in no time. But the story gets better, you see the miners get into their ferrocrete skulls that since the Jedi's unconscious they can collect the bounty the Exchange has posted on live Jedi. Well, what passes for the law here didn't like that idea so the two groups started fighting. Then, I heard some big explosion, I was sitting here for a long time, then you showed up in your underwear and things got a _lot_ better."

"Very funny," I couldn't help but laugh, I knew how ridiculous I looked running around like that. "But you said there's a bounty on Jedi, why?"

"Honestly, I don't know that much about it, my guess is the Exchange wants one as a trophy, or, someone has something against them and is looking to collect. I bet it's pretty high too, since there aren't many left."

"What happened to them?"

"Well, the ones who weren't killed in the Jedi Civil Was ended up switching off the lightsabers a long time ago. Word is there's not even a Jedi Council any more, but who knows?"

"A war _between_ Jedi?"

"Yeah, Revan and Malak and the Jedi who followed them turned on the others and had a scrap that nearly laid wasted to the galaxy. Where have you been?"

I hesitated, "I've been…away. Since the Mandalorian Wars but," I said changing the subject, "that really doesn't matter right now. I need to know what happened here."

"I already told you what I know, which isn't much. And, I mean it's not like your half-naked interrogation isn't a personal fantasy of mine but—" he stopped for a second and looked at me. "Wait a minute, _you're_ that Jedi they were talking about! Where is everyone?"

"_You_ don't know?" I asked, unpleasantly surprised.

"Yeah, I saw the whole thing from my wonderful view in this security cage. Look, I heard some explosions, some alarms going off, and some toxic gas pouring from the vents, maybe none of them survived. And…if they're all gone," his expression changed, "hey, let me out. I can help, really. I've gotten out of trouble countless times."

"That means you've gotten _into_ it 'countless times.' And how do I know I can trust you? Cause you sure seemed to know a lot about what the miners were planning to do and I still think you were locked up for a reason."

"I told you it was a misunderstanding. I _could_ clear it up, if I could speak to someone in charge, but there seems to me that there's no chance of that happening _unless_ you let me out. And as for how you can trust me, I need you to let me out and you'll probably need me to get past the security here."

"Ok, so _how _can you help?" still unsure if I could trust him.

"Just in case you don't understand the trouble we're in, let me lay it out for you. This facility is a series of mining tunnels dropping miles into the asteroid's core. Every worker and droid here has been cleared, and then triple cleared for hazardous operations. This facility has an operational threat level so high that they don't allow un-cleared starships in system out of fear that an accidental engine discharge will create a very brief, very hot new sun in this sector.

"You know why? Because every asteroid in this orbiting minefield has deposits of Peragian fuel within it—that means when one decides to pop, its brothers and sisters are coming along for the ride. One explosion, you might survive, but 100? 1000? You'll be riding out of here on a comet trail, Jedi. So, if something's gone wrong here, you can cling to the Force all you want but _nothing_ will stop this place from going critical."

"Alright, alright I get it. And after hearing all that I'm assuming you've got some sort of plan to get out of here."

"This facility isn't a military installation, which means we may have a chance. If you shut down the cell's security field, I can reroute the emergency systems and we can get to the hangars. We grab a ship and fly out of here."

"Sounds good. But, one thing first, the patients in the medbay were killed with a lethal dose of sedatives. You know anything about that?"

" No, should I?" he said angrily. "Maybe you should ask one of those miners thinking of selling you to the Exchange. Maybe they wanted to drug you up for transport, ever think of that?"

"Calm down. I was only asking you, not accusing you."

"So are you done interrogating me or are we going to work together?"

"You're right, I'm going to need your help. I'll shut the field down." I walked over to the controls and shut it off. Atton picked up the Pazaak cards still lying at his feet and walked over.

"Great—now let's get to the command console," he said, gesturing for me to go first.

"I don't think so, _you_ first," I told him, not liking the idea of him staring at me the whole way over there.

* * *

As we got to the command console Atton began to work on shutting the emergency systems down, talking as he didso. "Alright," he said, "this console's set on automatic hail, you probably heard it when you came in. The drift charts are constantly being updated so it sends out a transmission to incoming vessels so they don't get crushed into space dust." He stopped as the computer flashed some data across the screen. He read it and continued, still looking at the computer, "The hail warns them to keep their distance until orbital drift charts are transmitted, and then provides docking instructions to incoming ships, usually freighters. Thing is," he said looking up, "you can bounce that same transmission back to the command console and suddenly you've got access to the communication system from the inside." He turned back to the console and continued working. "Pure Pazaak, the console's ours. Now all we have to do is reactivate the turbo lifts, cancel the emergency lockdown—hey!"

"Hey, what?" I said worried, looking over his shoulder at the console.

"The system's been severed from the main hub—_after_ it was locked down. I can't even reroute it, it's been cut clean."

"Why would that happen? That's not standard procedure."

He looked up from the console, "You're right. Someone tried to lockdown this whole level. Leaving us here. Trapped."

"Isn't there some way to end the lockdown from here?"

"I doubt it, all we've got is communications back. For all the good shouting in a vacuum will do us."

"Could we reach someone on the comm.?"

"We could try, but if those miners were trying to trap and probably kill you, why not call them and chat?"

"Well, we can't do much else. There's no other way to the hangar."

"Be my guest, comm.'s all yours."

Atton stepped back as I went up to the console. I switched to the comm. system. I knew Atton was right about the miners but I needed to find out what was going on, and they were the only ones who were going to know.

I tried the dormitories first but no one answered. The only other place I could get a signal from was the hangar bay.

"Is anyone there?" I asked.

There was some low beeping on the other side, a utility droid.

"Can you read me?" The droid answered. I asked if it was operational, it was. "We're trapped on the administration level. Is there any way you could unlock the turbolifts to the mining tunnels?"

The droid answered no, that terminal was locked as well as missing parts.

"Well, there's got to be an emergency hatch around there, try and find one."

The droid reminded me that due to the explosions the mines were probably unstable.

"I know, but I'd rather risk it than to stay trapped up here, besides—"

"Wait a minute," Atton broke in, "You can't go into the tunnels. Were you listening to anything I said earlier?"

"What other choice do I have? I don't particularly enjoy being trapped here and that's the only way left to get to the hangar."

"Alright, but you're either really brave or really crazy…or both," he muttered.

I turned back to the console. "When you find the hatch open it and contact us," I said to the droid.

"Well, what now?" asked Atton from behind me.

"There's not really much we can do until that droid gets the hatch open."

"Great, I was wondering when I was going to get to sit around some more," he said. "I still think you're crazy."

"Well, you're not the first," I said as I sat down and leaned against the console.

"So tell me, what's a Jedi doing here anyway?" he asked sitting down next to me.

"First of all, I'm not a Jedi, anymore," I said flatly. "And, honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing here."

"You mean you didn't come here on purpose? I'm shocked, I really am," he said sarcastically. "I heard you came in on some freighter, a smuggling ship or something."

"You know, for someone who's been locked up you sure know a lot about what's going on," I said somewhat suspiciously, he didn't look at me. I continued, "I was on the _Harbinger_ on my way to Onderon. Kreia told me it was attacked. But I don't remember that, a freighter, or getting to this station. Hell, for all I know I could've teleported here."

"Who's Kreia?"

"Some crazy old woman who's haunting the morgue. I don't know really. She wouldn't say much but I think she knows more than she's telling me."

"Haunting the morgue? You sure you weren't in the kolto tank too long?"

"Trust me, I've asked myself that at least ten times today, but I'm not making it up."

"So, what's with not being a 'Jedi anymore'? Obviously it's not because of the Jedi Civil War since you were so clueless about it."

"It's a long story," I said, hoping to deter any more questions about it.

"Well, like you said, we're not going anywhere."

I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to drop it. "I was exiled, after the Mandalorian Wars."

"Exiled?"

"Yeah, they saw my following Revan to war as betrayal. So they exiled me."

"Why did you go back to them after the war. Most of the Jedi continued to follow Revan. That's what I _heard_ anyway."

"There were certain…circumstances. I just couldn't anymore."

He didn't say anything for a minute. Then he looked at me, "Do you regret it? Going to war?"

"I've thought about that a lot and no, I don't. Not even once. We went to stop the Mandalorians, the Council was going to let more people die while they sat and watched," I heard the bitterness in my voice as I said it. "We stopped them, Revan did. Then, I went back because I had nothing else left, and they exiled me," I turned my head away, thinking. He didn't ask anymore about it. "So what happened to all the Jedi," I asked.

"Well, a lot of them died in the Jedi Civil War. Or they abandoned it and followed Revan."

"Because of the Mandalorian Wars?"

"I guess so. _I_ wasn't there, but Revan and Malak turned on each other, after turning on the other Jedi of course. As to what happened next, there's rumors all over space about it. What I heard is that Revan came back to take care of Malak for betraying her."

"I heard she came back to save the Jedi, and the Republic."

"Maybe. All I heard was that she came back to finish Malak. You know women. I mean I wasn't there, but I _heard_ what she was like during the Mandalorian Wars: quick to take care of anybody who crossed her. Dark Jedi are bad enough, but when a woman falls to the Dark Side you better space yourself before they catch you. No offense or anything."

"None taken. So what happened to Revan then?"

"No idea. Nobody knows really. She just kind of disappeared after the War."

I sat thinking about Revan; I hadn't for a long time. I knew her during the Mandalorian Wars. Not personally, but I got to know what she was like. She was always different, one of the best Jedi there was. But she changed during the War. You could see it when you looked at her. There was something else on her mind. I was a General under her at Malachor. I knew a lot of the plans that she had but I was never in her close circle, she didn't trust me completely. Our goals became somewhat incompatible. I wanted to stop the Mandalorians, to stop the death. She wanted something else, she never told me what.

Atton interrupted my thoughts, "It must've been hard being a Jedi. No family, no husband…"

"No more difficult than listening to your false sympathy while you stare at my chest."

"Hey I wasn't—" he stammered.

I laughed. Just then there was a beeping from the console. We got up and checked it. The screen showed that the emergency hatch had been opened from remote.

"Hey," said Atton, "What do you know, that cargo cylinder came through."

"Yeah, but why didn't he contact us?"

Atton scratched his head, "I don't know. But you aren't really going into the tunnels are you? The explosion I heard came from down there. There's probably nothing there but superheated rock and collapsed tunnels."

"There's not really much choice."

"Alright, I'll monitor things from up here. Be careful—the only thing moving down there is likely going to be mining droids—so don't be playing hero too hard."

"Why? Are you worried about me?" I asked laughing.

"It's not like I _care_ what happens to you or anything," he said backtracking. "I just don't want to be trying to get off this rock alone."

"I see. Alright, see you soon."

"I'll keep the comlink open, I may be able to guide through the tunnels from up here. I don't know if the signal will hold if you go too deep though."

With that I left to get to the emergency hatch and headed into the tunnels.


	5. Old Friends and Explosions

I thought my adventures in the mining tunnels were never going to end. They weren't exactly pleasant so I'll give as brief description as I can. Before I left Atton had warned me about being swarmed by droids in the tunnels; he wasn't kidding. Fortunately, I managed to find a stealth field generator, and clothing (much to Atton's dismay).

I didn't expect to find much else down there but as I made my way farther in I did come across an HK droid who was with me aboard the Harbinger. He said that the ship had been boarded by a small freighter, the Ebon Hawk. It had been in a battle just before that. After it came aboard the Harbinger was also attacked; probably by the same ship. That was how I got aboard the Ebon Hawk.

Once we reached Peragus and I was in the medbay, the miners had devised a plan to take me in for the bounty on Jedi. How all of these people began associating me with the Jedi, I may never know.

At one point I actually had to cross the facility from the outside which didn't quite thrill Atton. I'm pretty sure he was convinced I was going to get myself killed one way or another, then he would've had to do something besides sit and play Pazaak. As I crossed the platforms I contemplated my complete absence of luck when another ship docked with the station. I didn't notice right away, but as I looked closer I realized that it was the Harbinger. I thought that maybe it had escaped whatever battle it had been involved in, and maybe my luck was returning. With that in mind I hurried back up to the admin level and found Kreia. I contemplated leaving her, but decided that since she _was_ the only one who knew what was going on I'd keep her along. When I told her about Atton she wasn't very happy. I then politely informed her that if she didn't want to be around him she could just stay on Peragus and no one's feelings would be hurt. I couldn't see the look on her face because her hood covered her eyes, but I'm betting it was deadly.

When we found Atton he was trying to figure out who had docked with the station. I told him that it was the Harbinger and that it was our only way off the station. Just then, the droid from the tunnels walked up behind us and aksed me where I thought I was going. I informed the pest that I was leaving, but on hearing that he pointed a mining laser right at me and said I should just go back to the medbay where I would be safe. We were forced to destroy it, not to anyone's dismay.

The ship looked as lifeless as the station we just left. We did find a few weapons scattered here and there which we took, figuringbetter safe then sorry. Our first priority was obtaining the space charts for the asteroid field, without those we might as well fly straight into the closest asteroid and not waste the time delaying the inevitable. On the way we were ambushed by camouflaged Sith, but we took care of them, with our newly acquired weapons. We came across the dorm-like rooms where I had been lodged on the ship. I stopped, many of my belongings were inside. I told Atton and Kreia to keep going and I'd catch up once I'd grabbed my things. Fortunately the Sith on board hadn't looted anything. I changed out of my fashionable mining uniform back into my own clothes. When I caught back up with Atton and Kreia they were almost to the bridge. Once more, camouflaged Sith attacked us.

Once we found the bridge, got the charts, and were heading back out practically home free when we came across a mutilated, lightsaber-bearing man. Apparently he and Kreia were old friends. She pulled out a sword and headed towards him and told us to run. I tried to follow her and stop her, thinking she was the mad one, when the dorr slammed shut and Atton grabbed my arm simultaneously.

"There's nothing we can do, we have to go" he said, pulling me along the corridor.

When we found the way to the fuel line Atton was the one who stopped.

"We're not really going through that, are we?"

"Not if you want to wait for Kreia's pal back there; it's up to you," I replied.

That convinced him enough to trust me one more time. We were almost through the line when all of the sudden I felt a searing pain in my hand. I had no idea what it was from, and it hurt so much I stopped running and leaned against the wall, hoping it would stop. Atton turned and saw me and ran back.

"What are you doing?!" he called as he ran, "What happened?" he asked once he reached me.

"I don't know...my hand started burning, it's getting better now."

"C'mon," he said, "just a little farther just keep going, you can't stop now."

With that he grabbed my other arm and pulled me forward again. It still smarted but not enough to make me stop again. We came across the t3 droid who helped us when we were trapped on the admin level lying in our path. I stopped to check it out, Atton got mad and said to just leave it. It responded when I lifted it back on it's base. Apparently it had been attacked and dumped there by that assassin droid, for interfering. I told it to follow Atton and I. We made it out of the tunnels to the hangar. The door was stuck.

"Great, all this way and we're stuck anyway!" I yelled in frustration, "maybe we should've—"

"Deet, deet doo"

"What's that tin can want now?" said Atton, just as frustrated as I was.

"He says he has the codes and parts for the door."

"Well, I was just kidding, don't let me get in the way," he said.

T3 managed to get the door open and we made our way to the ship, but with a large group of Sith right behind us. Atton got the engines fired up and I took care of the Sith from the turret. A few did manage to board, but luckily we still had the weapons from the harbinger and fought them off. In about 5 minutes Kreia showed up, holding the same wrist as I had a few minutes before.

"What happened?" I yelled, "Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I could face him, I have before" she said cryptically.

"Are you alright?" I asked, remembering that she had done it to save us.

"I escaped," she replied.

"Look, I'm sure you two would love to chat some more, but we're not out of this yet," Atton reminded us. "I suggest you take a seat and strap yourselves in, this could get a little rough."

Kreia went back to the main hold, I took the copilot seat. We left the hangar and were then faced with getting through the asteroid field. Fortunately the orbital drift charts had been recently updated and we could make it out safely. But, just as things seemed to be getting better the Harbinger came after us.

"Wonderful!" Atton yelled, "if they fire this whole field's gonna go up!"

"We'll have to outrun them," I said. "Can we make it?"

"We'll have to try"

As we were maneuvering through the asteroids, the harbinger fired, hitting the Ebon Hawk, which was fortunate, ironically. Better us than an asteroid, we were still to deep in the field to jump to hyperspace. They kept firing, but this time they hit one; followed by a massive explosion. Atton waited until the very last moment and then jumped to hyperspace. We were finally out.

As soon as the jump was complete, we both took a breath, glad to be out of there.

"Do you always manage to get into this much trouble?" Atton asked leaning back in his seat.

"I wouldn't relax just yet," Kreia joyfully announced walking into the room. "Peragus' destruction will not go unnoticed."

"Well, as long as no one finds out we were there we'll be alright," I said.

"Well, don't hold your breath about that, we're headed to Telos, which is dependent on Peragian fuel," said Atton, "they're not going to take this lightly."

"Perfect, can't we go anywhere else," I asked.

"Trust me, I wouldn't go there if I had the option of…just about anywhere else," Atton replied, "but the navicomputer is voice-locked and the only course we have is Telos."

" I guess we'll just have to deal with it once we get there then," I said. I turned to Kreia, "who was that on the Harbinger? How do you know him."

"I am wearied, suffice to say he is one of the Sith who are chasing you."

"But why me?"

"They believe you are the last Jedi."

"What gave them that idea? Certainly no real Jedi would aid that speculation."

"Their reasons are unknown to me. But they are aware of your ties to the Order, and apparently that's enough for them. That's enough questions for now. Especially in the company of a fool. I must rest." With that she turned and walked out.

"What did I do to her?" Atton asked, "what's wrong?" he asked when I didn't respond.

"You mean besides the Sith chasing me, or the crazy old woman who seems as confused about me as them, or Peragus or—"

"Calm down," Atton said.

"Calm down? Do you know the only reason I was on that station and not dead on the harbinger was because Kreia and that psycho assassination droid both took some sort of misguided interest in me? And on top of that, it seems like everyone but me knows what's going on. I didn't wander around the galaxy because I had any intention of coming back!"

"Ok, I'm not saying you don't have any reason to freak out right now, but what good is it going to do? We're all lucky to have made it off that rock. And if you think I'm happy with the situation you're sadly mistaken."

"I know, I'm sorry. I've just been away so long…I don't even know what…never mind. I'm fine."

"Why don't you go try and talk to you crazy friend back there. I think she wants you to. After all, she's not going to say a word to me."

With that I went to go search out Kreia. I found her in the dormitory.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"It will mend."

I asked her about the Sith and how she found me. Apparently she had been looking for me. As to any real answers beyond that, nothing. I could tell she was no Jedi. But, with as cryptic as she was she either missed her calling or, more likely, left the Order on not so good terms. Once again she avoided my questions with an, "I must rest."

"All right," I replied. "Thanks for what you did back there."

"You should check on the fool in the cockpit, I don't trust him."

"Well, I'm not going to ask you to trust him, but start using his name."

I went back to talk to Atton, more because I didn't know what else to do than because of Kreia. He heard me coming and asked, "So what did she have to say?"

"Nothing substantial. She's as bad as a Jedi."

"Maybe she is one," he said.

"Maybe at one time, but there's no way she still is." I sat back down in the co-pilot's seat. "You're sure there's no way to get anywhere but Telos?" I asked.

"Trust me if there was, we'd be headed to Nar Shadaa."

I didn't reply, just stared out the window.

"You play Pazaak?" Atton asked.

"Yeah. My deck is with all my other stuff," and I left to go grab it. I had thrown my things in the opposite dorm from Kreia, I didn't like being too close to her. When I opened my bag, I thought it was strange that when I packed these things it was just another planet I was visiting. Nothing new, nothing I hadn't seen before, and now here I was. I couldn't figure out how any of this happened. How did anyone even find out about me? Nothing made sense. Now I was headed to Telos with no idea what to expect. I had gone expecting nothing for so long. That is what my exile had done to me. I didn't care about where or why or how in any situation. The last time I had was when the council sentenced me. I stood up quickly. I had spent too many years escaping that day; there was no way I could look back at it now. Now, I was going to go play Pazaak; what was to come would come.

When I returned I realized I must've taken longer than I thought. "Did you get lost?" Atton asked.

I just rolled my eyes and answered, "Well if you don't want to play I'll just go back and you can—"

"Ok, ok, I was just kidding," he said pulling his deck out of his jacket pocket. We played a couple of games without saying much of anything, but as he was dealing the third game Atton asked, "So, what really happened. I mean I've never heard of anyone who stops being a Jedi."

I kept my eyes down, focusing on my cards. Part of me hated him for bringing it up, again. But, another part, a much smaller one, wanted to just tell him everything that happened without thinking about who he was or if I knew him at all, thinking that maybe it would make part of it go away. "I told you," I replied, "I was exiled for following Revan."

"But a lot of Jedi followed her, and you're the only one I've heard of being exiled for it."

"I guess I was the only one who left. The rest must've stayed on with Revan."

The game ended, Atton won. He dealt and asked, "Well, why did you go back?"

This time I looked up at him, "I…after the war, I just couldn't anymore." Just then I threw down a +5 card with 17 points. It was Atton's turn to look up. I picked up the cards and dealt. Hoping that would be the end of his questions, but he continued, "Where's your light saber then?"

"The Council took it."

"What did it look like?"

I realized suddenly I hadn't thought of that for a very long time. "It was…silver. Like the light of stars on water."

"It wasn't red was it?"

"No. Maybe if I'd stayed with Revan it would've been," I mused.

Finally, I won a game. I sat back while Atton dealt, "So why were you locked up on Peragus anyway?" I asked.

"I was hired as a pilot for a freighter, but apparently there was a mix-up with my credentials or something, nothing exciting. And, since they didn't know what to do with me 'til it was cleared up, they gave me those spacious quarters until they fixed it. Quite a hospitable little place."


End file.
